MADISON - The University of Wisconsin-Madison overshot its freshman enrollment goal for Wisconsin residents this fall by more than 100 seats — good news for those who got in and for "academically prepared" high school seniors hoping to be admitted for next fall.

Of the 8,062 Wisconsin residents who applied to be in this fall's freshman class, UW-Madison offered a seat to 72.3%, UW-Madison Provost Sarah Mangelsdorf told the UW Board of Regents on Thursday.

Last fall, UW-Madison accepted 69.5% of Wisconsin applicants.

Of Wisconsin residents offered admission for this fall, 3,746 (64.3%) ended up enrolling at UW-Madison, up from a 2016 new freshman class of 3,671 residents — 64.5% of those offered a seat.

The university has a goal of enrolling 3,600 Wisconsin residents in each fall's freshman class.

Admission chances are much better for next fall than for prospective freshmen 10 years ago. For fall 2008, UW-Madison accepted 60.6% of Wisconsin freshman applicants — 11.7% fewer than the current freshman class.

"It's an excellent time to be an applicant for UW-Madison as a Wisconsin resident," said Steve Hahn, vice provost for enrollment management.

The applicant pool has been flat for state residents over the last few years, according to data Mangelsdorf shared with the regents — 8,062 residents applied to be part of the freshman class last fall, compared to 9,074 in fall 2007.

But the number of nonresident applicants has nearly doubled over the past 10 years — up from 12,698 in 2007 to 24,483 last fall. That number does not include Minnesota students who attend UW-Madison under a reciprocity agreement.

So, who gets in?

Many things go into the decision, Hahn said.

"We're looking primarily for academic preparation. Show us you've demonstrated the academic ability to achieve at UW-Madison. We're looking at GPA in the context of classes they took — how rigorous they were — standardized test scores, and their statements, writing sample and recommendations."

UW-Madison received close to 29,000 applications by Nov. 1 from students seeking an "early action" decision, suggesting an 8% increase in applicants and a new record for the fall 2018 freshman class, Mangelsdorf said.

Students have until Feb. 1 to apply for "regular" fall admission.

UW-Madison officials also delivered good news for high school seniors anxiously waiting to hear whether UW-Madison will offer them a spot in the freshman class.

The university hopes to deliver decisions to those who applied by Nov. 1 "much earlier" and "perhaps several weeks" before the published "end of January" notification date, Hahn said.

The goal is to gain an edge over other universities as students make decisions on which school to attend, he said.

UW-Madison also plans to get financial aid package notices to students shortly after offering them admission, rather than the traditional several weeks later, to expedite decisions and help the campus better plan how many students to accept from the later applicant pool.

UW-Madison also is stepping up efforts to attract more of Wisconsin's "best and brightest" to boost the state's workforce talent pool — students who may choose to attend colleges in other states for reasons varying from wanting to go farther from home to wanting a smaller school.

A study in early 2016 found that roughly 1,400 high school students with an ACT score of 30 and above did not apply for admission to UW-Madison. The university improved its reach into that potential applicant pool by 6% last year, with 142 more admits and 61 (5%) more enrollments.

A new position was created in the admissions office to lead Wisconsin-specific initiatives, including the "Wisconsin Prime" program to attract top students, an appeal to all rural Wisconsin students to improve geographic diversity in the applicant pool and to better coordinate the timing of admission and financial aid decisions.

A guarantee of 3,600 new freshman seats to Wisconsin residents each fall was made in October 2015 to maintain access to the flagship for state students. The flagship at the same time is accepting more higher-paying, out-of-state residents to backfill state funding losses.

Editor's note: An earlier posted version of this story incorrectly said the university has a goal of admitting 3,600 Wisconsin residents in each fall's freshman class. The goal is to enroll 3,600 resident freshmen.